HEALTHCARE CHARITIES AND VALUE ADDED TAX RECOVERY

That this House supports Sue Ryder's campaign on value added tax (VAT) recovery for charities; notes that if a Sue Ryder hospice was run by the NHS it would be able to recover as much as 57 per cent. of the VAT incurred on non-business supplies; recognises their concerns about the impact of the Big Society and NHS reform policies on charities delivering healthcare services; further notes that these policy initiatives encourage the transfer of services from the NHS to the charity sector; further notes that the Treasury will raise funds through this transfer of services as charities are not entitled to the same VAT recovery on non-business supplies as the NHS; and calls on the Government to amend section 41(7) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 to put charities and the NHS on an equal footing in relation to VAT recovery.